The utility company, which serves about 337,000 customers in eight counties, filed a joint proposal with the state Public Service Commission on Wednesday. The proposed rate plan covers a three-year period, starting this July.

Assemblymember Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, along with groups such as Citizens for Local Power, the Public Utility Law Project and Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, said the joint settlement represents a significant reduction in the hike first sought by the company.

And it's the first time since the Fortis merger that Central Hudson has agreed to lower its fixed customer charges, flat monthly fees that are part of electric and gas bills no matter how much energy is actually used, Cahill and the organizations said in statements. Those fees "disproportionately affect seniors, low-income and low-usage consumers."

The joint proposal was developed after months of extensive negotiations with officials, community groups and other stakeholders, according to Central Hudson. It was agreed to and signed by Central Hudson, the Department of Public Service, and several other parties to the case.

Last July, Central Hudson requested the state Public Service Commission approve a an increase in its electric and gas delivery service rates. The increases, Central Hudson said, would enable it to continue to provide safe and reliable electric and gas service.

Under Central Hudson's original proposal, the fixed charge for residential electric customers would have increased from $24 to $25 a month, and the fixed charge for gas customers would go from $26 to $30 a month.

Under the previously proposed rate increases, a typical residential customer would end up paying an extra $8.39 a month for electric — a 7.5 percent increase on the total bill — and an additional $8.63 a month, a 7.4 percent increase, for heat, according to the Public Service Commission.

But under the joint proposal, Central Hudson would reduce the fixed charge for electric customers by $4.50 and the fixed charge for gas customers by $1.75 over a period of three years.

Electric bills for the average residential customer would increase by 1.33 percent (or less than 5 cents a day) in the first year, 2.99 percent in the second year and 4.41 percent in the third year, according to Central Hudson. The average residential natural gas bill would increase by 2.05 percent (about 8 cents a day) in the first year, 4.4 percent in the second year, and 5.45 percent in the third year.

The proposed rate plan "utilizes existing regulatory balances to offset billing impacts for customers during the term of the agreement, as well as projected reductions in federal income tax obligations under the new federal tax plan," Central Hudson said.

The estimated increases are based on the market supply prices for electricity and natural gas this past January.

“This is an important victory for fairness in our electricity rates because bills will be more closely tied to how much power customers actually use,” said Jen Metzger, director of Citizens for Local Power. The group, along with Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, participated in settlement negotiations, "but ultimately chose not to sign on to the Joint Proposal out of concern that the rate increase was too high, particularly in the third year, when the average residential customer would see a bill increase of $5.04 per month."

The New York State Public Service Commission has to approve the joint proposal before new rates can take effect.